The State Officers from Delaware Technology Student Association (DETSA) in collaboration with officers from Business Professionals of America, DECA, Educator’s Rising, Family Career and Community Leaders of America, HOSA, SkillsUSA hosted the annual Fall Leadership Conference (FLC) at Delaware State University on October 25-26, 2017. The FLC was sponsored by the Delaware Department of Education, Delaware Advisory Council on Career and Technical Education, and Delaware State University with 831 participants representing 115 chapters who participated in a series of workshops that emphasized the importance of leadership and service through Career and Technical Education. The conference featured guest speaker House Minority Leader Daniel Short, Representative of the 39th District.

In a collaborative effort to provide underserved and underrepresented populations with a better chance to excel in TSA, The Verizon Foundation’s Innovative Learning initiative and National TSA have partnered together creating the TSA 100. TSA 100 is a grant that was created to help aid expenses associated with creating and maintaining a TSA Chapter. This grant includes the following:

Membership dues (state and national) for a 10-member chapter plus one advisor*

A $200 cash allotment for materials and supplies for the technology lab

Official TSA shirts for 10 members, plus one advisor

A Student Leadership Challenge textbook for the advisor and 10 workbooks for chapter members

Student Leadership Challenge training for the advisor

A $200 stipend for one chapter advisor to be given in June 2018

Professional membership for one advisor in ITEEA (International Technology and Engineering Education Association)

Eligibility for this program is intended for chapters with less than 2 years of affiliation. The grant was created to offer TSA membership to historically underserved and underrepresented populations, such as, Title 1 schools or schools with a significant free and reduced lunch percentage. So chapters applying should fit both eligibility requirements when applying for the TSA 100.

We encourage all eligible chapters to apply for this program by contacting Suzy Orr at sorr@tsaweb.org.

The DETSA State Officers and TSA members participated in the 2017 Making Strides of Wilmington American Cancer Society Walk on October 14. The American Cancer Society has raised over $170,000. If you would like to learn more click on the link below. Make sure to stay tuned for more service activities that you can participate in!

The Delaware TSA State Officers and other TSA members participated in the International Coastal Cleanup day on Saturday, September 16, sponsored by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. The DETSA State Officers, joined with Delaware SkillsUSA State Officers, cleaned the Bethany Beach shoreline. Last year, over 1,500 volunteers collected 6 tons of trash from 45 different locations. If any TSA members have pictures of them participating in the Coastal Cleanup, then it would be greatly appreciated if you can send them to mike.fitzgerald@doe.k12.de.us. Make sure to stay tuned for next year’s Coastal Cleanup!